Module POLM144 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
POLM144: The West, Civilisations and World Order
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will introduce you to the study of transatlantic relations and ‘the West’ in international relations. It aims to provide you with a firm grasp and a critical perspective on the key historical developments, theoretical approaches, policy debates, and political controversies on the transatlantic community and ‘the West’, and their relationship to world order. The module will familiarise you with the histories and theories of the transatlantic relation, the processes and politics of Western identity construction, controversies surrounding the notion of the West as a civilization, debates about the Western or universal character of global governance institutions, democracy and human rights, critiques of Western-centrism in the social sciences and world politics, and the future of the transatlantic community and ‘the West’ in an era of power diffusion and multi-polarity.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. discuss the histories, theories, and case studies about the transatlantic relation and the West in international relations; 2. evaluate the internal dynamics and external influences of the transatlantic relation and the West in world politics; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. demonstrate an understanding of the debates and theories about the transatlantic relation and the West as a field of academic knowledge and its applicability to a range of case studies and empirical situations; 4. exercise informed judgment concerning the internal dynamics and external influence of the transatlantic community on world order; 5. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the concept of the West in scholarly, policy and public debates in world politics; |
Personal and Key Skills | 6. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the concept of the West in scholarly, policy and public debates in world politics; 7. write and present complex arguments clearly and persuasively; and 8. demonstrate critical judgment and confidence in articulating and defending your opinions. |
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Class presentation (usually in pairs) | Usually 10/15 minutes | 1-7 | Oral |
General seminar participation and engagement | Throughout the course | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay 1 | 50 | 4,000 | 1-7 | Written |
Essay 2 | 50 | 4,000 | 1-7 | Written |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Essay 1 | Essay 1 (4,000 words) | 1-7 | August/September re-assessment period |
Essay 2 | Essay 2 (4,000 words) | 1-7 | August/September re-assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Transatlantic Relations
Alcaro, Riccardo, Peterson, John, and Greco, Ettore (eds.) (2016), The West and the Global Power Shift: Transatlantic Relations and Global Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan).
Anderson, Jeffrey, Ikenberry, G. John, and Risse-Kappen, Thomas (eds.) (2008), The End of the West? Crisis and Change in the Atlantic Order (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press).
Lundestad, Geir (2005), The United States and Western Europe since 1945: From “Empire” by Invitation to Transatlantic Drift (Oxford: OUP).
The West
Bonnett, Alastair (2004), The Idea of the West: Culture, Politics and History (Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan).
Browning, Christopher S. and Lehti, Marko (eds.) (2013), The Struggle for the West: a Divided and Contested Legacy (Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge)
O’Hagan, Jacinta (2002), Conceptualizing the West in International Relations: From Spengler to Said (Houndmills, N.Y.: Palgrave).
The West and World Order
Fukuyama, Francis (2006), The End of History and the Last Man (New York: Free Press).
Huntington, Samuel P. (1996), The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster).
Ikenberry, G. John (2011), Liberal Leviathan: the Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press).
Katzenstein, Peter J. (ed.), (2010), Civilizations in World Politics: Plural and Pluralist Perspectives (New York, N.Y.: Routledge).
Kupchan, Charles A. (2012), No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press).